How to have a family, by the Doctor and Jack
by LaurenAnn123
Summary: It's all in the title. Warnings: slightly graphic miscarriage.


**Disclaimer**: I don't own Doctor Who, and make no profit from the writing of this story.

"Doctor, how long you going to be in there? I need the loo," Jack called. The Doctor had hurried into the bathroom straight after breakfast that morning. Jack had followed, and was alarmed to hear retching sounds coming from it.

"I won't be a minute," the Doctor called back. There were some more vomiting sounds, then the Doctor emerged, wiping his mouth. He looked very pale.

"You sure you're all right? You should get checked out for viruses and stuff. I heard there's one going round at the minute."

"I'm fine. It was just the breakfast, that's all."

Jack just shook his head and went into the bathroom.

---

This went on for a few weeks. Jack had been getting more worried. Then he realised he'd seen this before. In some girlfriends.

One morning, the Doctor entered the console room, looking unhappy about something.

"What's wrong, Doctor? You still sick?"

"I've put on a stone in weight."

"Hey, that's good. You look like you're actually getting fed now."

"But I don't want to put on weight. I like being skinny. That's why I'm able to run so fast."

_You're not gonna be able to run at all soon_, thought Jack. "Nah, that little bit extra, it suits you."

The Doctor still looked unhappy. "I'm gonna get fat. I don't wanna get fat. I like my shape."

"Well, why don't you try exercising? Maybe that'll help," Jack suggested.

---

A few weeks later, Jack went to their bedroom, to get dressed after showering. He found the Doctor standing in front of the mirror, frowning.

"What's the matter? You look gorgeous the way you are."

"I can't get my zip done."

"What?"

"My zip won't go up all the way."

"Let me see."

Jack went over to the Doctor, who promptly lifted his shirt so that Jack could see the offending zip. Then he noticed the Doctor's stomach. It was a little rounded. An almost invisible curve. _There's only one thing for it_, thought Jack.

"Doctor, you know the way we made love all those weeks ago?"

The Doctor nodded.

"Well, I don't know how to say this to you, but, you're having a baby."

The Doctor just scoffed. "Don't be ridiculous."

"Think about it. The sickness, the impossible weight gain, not being able to get your zip done. That must be why."

"But - I can't be. That just doesn't happen. Men don't-"

"But you're no ordinary man. You're a Time Lord. You told me yourself, Time Lords are equipped to have kids. It's in your biology, Doctor."

"I can't be," the Doctor said again. "I've just put on too much weight, that's all. I'll just have to buy new suits."

---

Two months on, the Doctor was still refusing to accept his condition, even though his stomach had got much bigger. He insisted on exercising furiously, determined to lose the weight he was convinced he had gained.

"Doctor, that'll not do you or the baby any good. This isn't going to go away. You're going to have to let me fly the Tardis a bit more often now. You can't do it the way you are."

"Jack, listen. I'm not pregnant, I've just put on a lot of weight. Can't you understand? I'm _not _pregnant."

"But you nearly flew us into the sun the last time you flew the Tardis. Do you want to get us killed? You need to rest."

"I'm flying the Tardis, Jack. I can do it."

Jack grabbed him, and dragged him off to their bedroom. He stopped in front of the mirror, ignoring all protests from the Doctor, and pulled up his jacket and shirt.

"Look at yourself. You call that weight gain, I call that a six-month-pregnant stomach. Face facts. No one puts on that much weight just around their stomach. It just doesn't happen."

"How many times, Jack? I'm _not _pregnant. Ow!"

"What is it?" Jack asked, suddenly worried. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," the Doctor gritted out. "Just a stomach ache."

Jack wasn't convinced. He placed a hand on the Doctor's stomach. Then he took the Doctor's hand, and placed it there as well, holding it in place.

"Feel that. That's your baby. It's kicking."

"No, it's not. It's just stomach pains." _Man, he's really stubborn_, thought Jack.

---

Another two months on. Jack had been right. The Doctor could barely walk any more, never mind run. He was eight months gone and was still putting his swollen stomach down to weight gain. Jack found this unbelievable. _Maybe it'll sink in when his labour starts, he thought. A baby will come out. There's no way he'll be able to deny it after that. Thank God there's not much longer to go. I don't know how much longer I can put up with this._

Just then, the Doctor waddled in, clutching his sonic screwdriver.

"Jack, move, I need to fix the Tardis."

"You're not fixing anything in your condition, Doctor. Give me your screwdriver, and I'll do it."

But the Doctor refused to hand it over. "Let me do something, otherwise I'll feel useless."

"Fine. If you want anything, just yell." And Jack went off to their bedroom to sort it out. The Doctor had taken to messing it up and not bothering tidying up after himself.

Jack had only been gone five minutes when he heard a distant yell. He came rushing back to the console room to find the Doctor lying there. The crotch of his trousers was wet.

_Oh, no. It's too early_, thought Jack. _Our baby is gonna die. I told him to take it easy._

"Jack, what's happening? I feel like I need to push."

"This is labour, sweetheart. You're gonna have our baby now. Give me your hand, love."

"Oh, Jack, I'm so scared. What if something happens to me?"

"Nothing will, I promise. You're gonna have to take off your trousers and pants, sweetheart, else the baby can't get out.

The Doctor did as he was told. He was very tense. Jack attempted to soothe him, make him relax.

The Doctor kept pushing, with plenty of encouragement from Jack. However, he'd never done this before, and so he started to tire.

"Come on, love, stay with me. Keep pushing, come on."

But the Doctor's body was overtired. He gave a push, then collapsed. _Oh God. He can't stop now. It's only half out._

Half an hour later, the Doctor came round.

"Come on, Doctor. You gotta keep pushing, okay?"

And so the Doctor pushed. He pushed and pushed. Jack pulled the baby out, and the Doctor collapsed again.

_Now I can prove to the Doctor that he was pregnant. Where else would this little lass have come from? I think he should name her. _He held the baby close, trying to soothe her. Patting her gently on the back, he looked at the Doctor. He seemed to be merely sleeping now. _I'll come back for him. This little girl is slightly more important._

Indeed he did return to the console room, after making sure the baby was secure. He lifted the Doctor and carried him to their bedroom. Laying him gently on the bed, he watched him sleep.

---

"I can't believe she's our daughter. She's so perfect," the Doctor whispered, looking down at his daughter in her cot.

"So you believe me then?"

"I have to now, don't I? She's here. You didn't name her yet, did you?"

"I thought you should have the honour. You carried her, and gave birth to her."

"She's definitely getting called Rose. One way or another. I think you should give her her first name. She's yours too."

"I quite like Jennifer. Suits her."

"Jennifer Rose. Nice."

---

Jennifer Rose proved to be quite a handful as she got older. The Doctor had also become overprotective of her, refusing to take her out for walks and not letting Jack feed her. This, he said, was to make up for not believing she was real when he carried her.

"We're gonna have to take her out for a walk some time, Doctor. It's unhealthy for her to be inside all the time.

"She's a baby, Jack. She might go crawling off somewhere, get lost, you know?"

"I do know. That's what prams are for. We're gonna have to get her one."

"Yeah, but what if-?"

"Doctor, she'll be with her two favourite people in the whole world. She'll be fine. Just loosen up a bit."

"Jack, I'm her father. If I don't want to take her out, she's not going out."

"You're more like the mother. You feed her, dress her, give her baths, put her to bed. You don't let me near her. You have to remember you're not the only parent in this family."

"You called me the mother! That's as bad as the time I got called pretty boy! By a woman!"

"Doctor, stop shouting. You'll upset her. Anyway, you are a pretty boy. _My _pretty boy."

That softened the Doctor. "Okay, okay, we'll go and get a pram. You can carry her if you want," he said, remembering what Jack had said about there being two parents in the family.

---

They had a pram, and had made full use of it. Jack was allowed to push the pram, much to his happiness. The Doctor occasionally tried to keep other people from even looking in the pram, but Jack told him to lighten up. People love babies, he'd said. Don't you want to show her off?

Now they were getting ready for bed. The Doctor, for the first time since they'd had her, let Jack put Jennifer to bed. Jack was just relieved the Doctor was letting him do fatherly things now. He'd been way too protective of his daughter up till now.

Once Jennifer was in bed (asleep was a different matter), Jack went into their bedroom. The Doctor was getting ready for bed.

---

"Sorry. I just didn't want you getting pregnant again too quickly. Jen's only three months old."

"Jack, I - I don't mind having another one. Now I know I can."

"You will mind when you've got two screaming toddlers pulling each other's hair out. I think we should wait a couple of years."

"_Years_? Jack, if we wait that long, we'll be waiting for ever."

"I've got forever. Can't die, remember?"

"I haven't got forever. I'm 903 years old, Jack. I want to make sure I have a family when I die."

"You've got a family. You've got the biggest family in the universe, just like Sarah Jane said."

"I want to have children of my own. See them growing up, you know?"

"Yeah, I guess," Jack grumbled. "But I still don't see why we can't wait a bit."

"Because I'm the one that has them and I say I want more now."

"Okay."

---

"I told you we should have waited!"

The Doctor was nearly in tears. "Well, I can't do anything about it now, can I?"

"You were, what, three months? Couldn't you take it easy? I know you like running, but that's really not gonna help the baby."

"It's gone, Jack. There is no baby."

"There's no baby, and it's all your fault!"

That was when the tears started to fall. The Doctor couldn't believe Jack was blaming him for the loss.

Jack saw the tears and softened. "I'm sorry, Doctor," he said, coming over to the other man and kissing the top of his head. "We'll try again."

---

Six months and two miscarriages later, the Doctor was distraught. He wanted to settle down and have a family, but it looked like that wasn't going to happen any time soon. Jack tried his best to comfort the Doctor, promising him they would keep trying. Inside, though, he supposed the first pregnancy could have been a one-off. They had had a very passionate love-making session that time, perhaps that's what had done it for them. He thought about trying that again.

---

"Aw, you've got a little bump."

"You know what that means, don't you?"

"We're having a baby!"

---

"You're getting big, love."

"I think this one's here to stay."

---

"He's gorgeous, look at him."

"I know! I can't believe it! You actually did it! You had our son!"

This went on for some time. Jennifer Rose and Wilfred James were growing up fast. When the Doctor thought he was ready, they tried again. Now they knew how to do it, they were sure it would work every time.

Until one day.

---

The Doctor had been just past the first trimester, and so they thought this one was here to stay. Jennifer was three and three-quarters and Wilf was two and a half. The minute the Doctor had found out he was having another one, he'd wanted to jump for joy. But he refrained from doing this, as he knew he could damage the baby if he did.

He was doing everything he could to stay off his feet. Jack was flying the Tardis, and keeping an eye on the children. Jack wanted to spoil the Doctor, and so ran him a lovely warm bath with plenty of bubbles. The kids saw this and wanted to get in too, but Jack said no, telling them this was only for their daddy.

The Doctor eased himself in carefully, hand on his stomach. Then he lay back and relaxed. Jack came in later to wash his hair, while the Doctor massaged his small bump.

Then Jack had gone away to look after the kids. Nice as they were, they did have a tendency to mess around with each other.

The Doctor had just lain back again when he felt a sudden stab of pain in his stomach. He panicked. Looking down, he saw blood in the water. He yelled for Jack, who came running. He'd left the kids to play in their room. Jack took one look at the Doctor and hurried over to him. He lifted the Doctor out of the bath and laid him on a towel on the floor. There was blood everywhere. Sinking realisation hit him and knew the baby was gone. How to tell the Doctor, he didn't know.

How could it have gone so wrong? He should have carried this one to full term. He'd been taking it easy, letting Jack man the Tardis. Maybe two kids would have to do them. For now, the Doctor would have to rest. This had been his worst miscarriage yet. He'd be weak, weaker than he had been before. No way was he flying the Tardis.

---

It had been a year since that last miscarriage, and the Doctor had finally agreed that they should stop. He wasn't risking another miscarriage. They had a boy and a girl.

Jack had decided he wanted to marry the Doctor not long after. Indeed, the Doctor had been surprised when Jack had taken out the ring and got down on one knee. Captain Jack Harkness, settling down and having a family? It was unheard of.

Jack invited his Torchwood team to the wedding, while the Doctor invited Martha and Donna. Both were happy to see that the Doctor had finally found a proper long-term partner. However, the Doctor did not tell Rose. He knew she'd be jealous of Jack if he did. She'd always thought she was the only one for him.

Everyone cried at the wedding. Tears of happiness. The kids behaved themselves, standing beside their adopted aunts and uncles. The Doctor and Jack shared a long kiss to seal their bond. They walked out of the church holding hands with each other and the kids.


End file.
